Menorca showcases its living heritage in Crete and wins an international award for the wine Mirant Pregonda

Menorca European Region of Gastronomy 2022 at the World Food Gift Challenge 2026 brings together recovered grape varieties, zero-waste cuisine, creative ceramics, and the memory of water.

Menorca European Region of Gastronomy 2022 took part in the seventh edition of the World Food Gift Challenge — held in Crete, European Region of Gastronomy 2026 — where it received the award for “Best Protection of Gastronomic Heritage” for Mirant Pregonda, by Morvedra.

Menorca arrived in Crete with four proposals sharing the same vision: understanding gastronomy as intangible cultural heritage. The presentation before the World Platform of Gastronomy Regions was led by gastronomic writer Henrik Brian Zeegers.

The award for Mirant Pregonda, by Morvedra, places Menorca in one of the competition’s most significant categories. It is a delicacy produced with the premsal blanc and malvasia grape varieties, grown in the vineyards of the Sant Josep estate in Ferreries — overlooking Cala Pregonda. The winery also works, above all, on the recovery of calop blanc, an ancestral grape variety miraculously brought back to life. The project connects landscape, regenerative viticulture, and biodiversity, all wrapped in a legendary epic that elevates this Menorcan wine to the highest level. In addition to Mirant Pregonda, three other food gifts were presented.

The fish fumet by Sa Llotja de Maó and s’Ambosta Obrador revalues food reuse in support of the fishing sector. The broth transforms low-value fish into a delicacy — healthy, ecological, and local — accessible to all shopping baskets.

Meanwhile, the Plat-Era by Marc Marcet revives the innovative fountain created for the Young Menorcan Chef 2025 competition, inspired by traditional architecture and Dry Stone Construction, recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018.

Finally, the strongest narrative element is found in the Destil·lador. This work brought together sandstone artisan Julio Servera, wild olive wood craftsman Jordi Ribas, and the Gordiola family of blown-glass artisans — see Blown Glass, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 2023. It is an ancient filter described and illustrated by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria. The limestone basin purifies and mineralises rainwater, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Clean Water and Sanitation”.

The participation of Menorca European Region of Gastronomy 2022 in the World Food Gift Challenge 2026 was supported by the Department of Economy of the Consell Insular de Menorca. The initiatives presented demonstrate the island’s ability to relaunch its gastronomic heritage year after year on the international stage.